Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: The pathophysiology of the effects of cocaine on fetal development has been described along 2 major pathways: neurochemical effects and vasoconstrictive effects. Following a summary of these effects, we suggest a 'third pathophysiology' in which altered fetal programming affects the acute and long-term adverse effects of in utero cocaine exposure. We describe how cocaine as a stressor alters the expression of key candidate genes, increasing exposure to catecholamines and fetal cortisol-altering neuroendocrine (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) activity, leading to infant behavioral dysregulation, poor behavioral control and emotion regulation during childhood and phenotypes that confer vulnerability to substance use in adolescence. This model is discussed in relation to follow-up studies of the effects of in utero cocaine exposure and maturational changes in brain development.
Source: Developmental Neuroscience
DOI: 10.1159/000207491
Authors: Barry M. Lester, James F. Padbury
Institutions: Brown University, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1986986570